Decision made!

Since the information is now known by people who did not know it before, it is fair to write of my retirement from federal service at the end of this month. As of December 30, 2011, I will be a non-employed civilian for a while. I say "non-employed" to differentiate from "unemployed" because that connotes something bad. After 27 years in service to the flying public, I will call it quits and become what is called an "annuitant," meaning I will be drawing my retirement pay for the rest of my life.

But I am not finished working. In fact, at age 62, I am 3 years away from being eligible for Social Security and my plan is to work at least until I am 65, perhaps even 67. But I will not be doing what I have done for the past 40+ years, aviation. No, I will not be doing anything related to aircraft at all. I am going to do something I have wanted to do for a very long time, something that many men want to do.

I am going to drive a big rig.

Yes, after retirement, I will enter a local commercial driving license, CDL, training school. After three weeks of training, I will take a road test here in Michigan and receive the CDL. After that, I will use it. In fact, I have already been accepted as a prewire with Stevens Transportation, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and will begin training with them probably early in February.

I want to use this blog as the vehicle to share my thoughts and progress as I move into retirement and my new career. Well, actually, I should probably call what I will start on December 31, 2011, "semi-retirement," since I will really go from one job to another and will stay as long as I want to.

The only negative in my future relates to that person to whom I alluded in the first paragraph. I hope I can put all that in the "right" place so I am not too distracted or stressed. I do have to pass a DOT physical to drive a truck, after all.